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The utility of Schlafen 11 (SLFN11) expression as a predictive biomarker for platinum-based chemotherapy has been established for cancers from different histologies. However, the therapeutic relevance of SLFN11 in bladder cancer (BC) is unknown. Here, we examined the clinicopathologic significance of SLFN11 expression across 120 BC cases by immunohistochemistry. We divided the cases into two cohorts, one including 50 patients who received adjuvant or neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, and the other including 70 BC patients treated by surgical resection without chemotherapy. In the cohort of 50 BC cases treated with platinum-based chemotherapy, the SLFN11-positive group (n = 25) showed significantly better overall survival than the SLFN11-negative group (n = 25, P = .012). Schlafen 11 expression correlated significantly with the expression of luminal subtype marker GATA3. Multivariate analyses identified SLFN11 expression as an independent prognostic predictor (odds ratio, 0.32; 95% confidence interval, 0.11-0.91; P = .033). Conversely, in the cohort of 70 BC cases not receiving platinum-based chemotherapy, the SLFN11-positive group (n = 29) showed significantly worse overall survival than the SLFN11-negative group (n = 41, P = .034). In vitro analyses using multiple BC cell lines confirmed that SLFN11 KO rendered cells resistant to cisplatin. The epigenetic modifying drugs 5-azacytidine and entinostat restored SLFN11 expression and resensitized cells to cisplatin and carboplatin in SLFN11-negative BC cell lines. We conclude that SLFN11 is a predictive biomarker for BC patients who undergo platinum-based chemotherapy and that the combination of epigenetic modifiers could rescue refractory BC patients to platinum derivatives by reactivating SLFN11 expression., (© 2021 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

BRAF V600E mutation accounts for up to 90% of all BRAF mutations in human colorectal cancer (CRC), and constitutively activates the MEK-MAPK pathway. It is recognized that neutralizing mAbs for epidermal growth factor receptor alone are not effective for CRC with BRAF V600E mutation. Therefore, there is increasing interest in identification of the possible therapeutic targets in downstream of BRAF mutation in CRCs. To address this, we studied genome engineered mouse models for colonic neoplasia that has Braf V600E mutation on the basis of Apc inactivation, induced in 2 distinct Cre mouse models, CDX2P-G22Cre and CDX2P-CreER T2 mice. We carried out oligonucleotide microarray analysis for colonic neoplasia generated in these mouse models, and compared gene expression profiles among Kras/Braf WT, Kras-mutated, and Braf-mutated mouse colon tumors to seek new molecular targets corresponding to the KRAS-BRAF-MAPK axis. We found that the expression of the growth regulation by estrogen in breast cancer protein 1 (Greb1) was the most upregulated gene in Braf-mutated mouse tumors compared to Kras/Braf WT counterparts. The silencing of GREB1 significantly reduced the proliferation and tumorigenesis of CRC cell lines, whereas the overexpression of GREB1 promoted cell proliferation. Although GREB1 was first identified as a hormone-responsive gene mediating estrogen-stimulated cell proliferation in endometriosis, breast, and ovarian cancers, these results suggest that RAS-RAF-MAPK signaling upregulates GREB1 expression in CRC, resulting in cellular proliferation. Thus, GREB1 is a possible therapeutic target for CRCs with Braf V600E mutation., (© 2020 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common human cancers. We previously reported that claspin is a key regulator in the progression of gastric cancer, and it likely plays an important role in cancer stem cells of gastric cancer. However, the significance of claspin in RCC has not been examined. First, we analyzed the expression and distribution of claspin in 95 RCC cases by immunohistochemistry. In the nonneoplastic kidney, the staining of claspin was either weak or absent, whereas RCC tissue showed nuclear staining. In total, claspin expression was detected in 45 (47%) of 95 RCC cases. The claspin staining appeared relatively stronger in high nuclear grade RCC than in low nuclear grade RCC. Claspin-positive RCC cases were associated with higher T grade, tumor stage, nuclear grade, vein invasion, and poorer prognosis. CLSPN siRNA treatment decreased RCC cell proliferation. The levels of phosphorylated Erk and Akt were lower in CLSPN siRNA-transfected RCC cells than in control cells. In addition, claspin was coexpressed with CD44, epidermal growth factor receptor, p53, and programmed death ligand-1. These results suggest that claspin plays an important role in tumor progression in RCC and might be a prognostic marker and novel therapeutic target molecule., (© 2020 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. In order to identify novel prognostic markers or therapeutic targets for CRC, we searched for candidate genes in our comprehensive gene expression libraries, and focused on SEC11A, which encodes the SPC18 protein. SPC18 plays a key role in the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi secretory pathway and presumably regulates the secretion of various secretory proteins. An immunohistochemical analysis of SPC18 in 137 CRC tissue samples demonstrated that 79 (58%) CRC cases were positive for SPC18. SPC18-positive CRC cases were more advanced in terms of N classification (P = 0.0315) and tumor stage (P = 0.0240) than SPC18-negative CRC cases. Furthermore, the expression of SPC18 was an independent prognostic classifier for CRC patients. The cell growth and invasiveness of SPC18 siRNA-transfected CRC cell lines was less than that of the negative control siRNA-transfected cell lines. The levels of phosphorylated epidermal growth factor receptor, Erk and Akt were lower in SPC18 siRNA-transfected CRC cells than in control cells. The expression of SPC18 was colocalized with β-catenin nuclear localization and MMP7 at the invasive front. An immunohistochemical analysis of human colorectal polyp specimens revealed a sequential increase in the expression of SPC18 through the conventional adenoma-carcinoma pathway, while SPC18 was not expressed or was expressed to a lesser extent in serrated pathway-related tumors. These results suggest that SPC18 is involved in tumor progression, and is an independent prognostic classifier in patients with CRC., (© 2016 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Gastric cancer (GC), one of the most common human cancers, can be classified into gastric or intestinal phenotype according to mucin expression. TP53 mutation, allelic deletion of the APC gene and nuclear staining of β-catenin are frequently detected in the intestinal phenotype of GC, whereas CDH1 gene mutation, microsatellite instability and DNA hypermethylation of MLH1 are common events in the gastric phenotype of GC. Our Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) and Escherichia coli ampicillin secretion trap (CAST) analyses revealed that CDH17, REG4, OLFM4, HOXA10, DSC2, TSPAN8 and TM9SF3 are upregulated in GC and that CLDN18 is downregulated in GC. Expression of CDH17, REG4, HOXA10 and DSC2 and downregulation of CLDN18 are observed in the intestinal phenotype of GC. In contrast, OLFM4 is expressed in the gastric phenotype of GC. Expression of TSPAN8, TM9SF3 and HER2 are not associated with either gastric or intestinal phenotypes. Ectopic CDX2 expression plays a key function in the GC intestinal phenotype. MUC2, CDH17, REG4, DSC2 and ABCB1 are direct targets of CDX2. Importantly, these genes encode transmembrane/secretory proteins, indicating that the microenvironment as well as cancer cells are also different between gastric and intestinal phenotypes of GC., (© 2015 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Gastric cancer (GC) develops through deregulation of gene expression and accumulation of epigenetic abnormalities, leading to tumor cell acquisition of malignant features. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in cancer development where they can act as oncogenes or oncosuppressors. To identify miRNAs that are associated with some clinicopathologic features of GC and/or participate in tumor progression, miRNA expression in 20 GC tissues and five corresponding non-neoplastic gastric mucosa was examined by miRNA microarray. Oligonucleotide array analysis was carried out for miRNA target prediction. The functions of candidate miRNAs and their target genes were also analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR, Western blotting, reporter gene assay, and cell invasion assay. Comparison of miRNA expression profiles revealed that downregulation of miR-148a was identified in most of the GC tissues. Downregulation of miR-148a was significantly correlated with an advanced clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor clinical outcome. Custom oligonucleotide array analysis revealed that MMP7 expression was markedly downregulated in miR-148a-overexpressing GC cells; MMP7 was found to be a direct and functional target of miR-148a, participating in cell invasion. These results suggest that miR-148a contributes to the maintenance of homeostasis in normal stomach tissue and plays an important role in GC invasion by regulating MMP7 expression., (© 2013 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In particular, scirrhous type GC is highly metastatic and is characterized clinically by rapid disease progression and poor prognosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in cancer development and progression. In the present study, we identified several miRNAs that are expressed at higher levels in scirrhous type GC than in non-scirrhous type GC by miRNA microarray analysis. Among these, microRNA-143 (miR-143) expression was higher in scirrhous type GC than in non-scirrhous types of GC. In situ hybridization and quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that miR-143 is expressed by stromal fibroblasts but not by cancer cells. In stromal cells, miR-143 enhanced collagen type III expression in normal gastric fibroblasts and cancer-associated fibroblasts through activation of transforming growth factor-β)/SMAD signaling. Furthermore, high miR-143 expression in GC was associated with worse cancer-specific mortality (P = 0.0141). Multivariate analysis revealed that miR-143 was an independent prognostic factor. Treatment of GC cell lines with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine restored the expression of miR-143, and precursor miR-143 caused the inhibition of cancer cell invasion. These data suggest that miR-143 regulates fibrosis of scirrhous type GC through induction of collagen expression in stromal fibroblasts and that miR-143 expression serves as a prognostic marker of GC., (© 2013 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In the present study, to identify novel prognostic markers or therapeutic targets for ESCC, we reviewed a list of genes with upregulated expression in ESCC compared with normal esophagus, as identified by our serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) analysis. We focused on the NRD1 gene, which encodes the nardilysin protein. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 34 ESCC tissue samples revealed that mRNA expression of NRD1 was upregulated in 56% of ESCC tissue samples. Immunohistochemical analysis of nardilysin in 109 ESCC tissue samples demonstrated that 43 (39%) ESCC cases were positive for nardilysin. Nardilysin-positive ESCC cases were more advanced in terms of T classification (P = 0.0007), N classification (P = 0.0164), and tumor stage (P < 0.0001) than nardilysin-negative ESCC cases. Furthermore, nardilysin expression was significantly associated with poorer prognosis (P = 0.0258). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that nardilysin expression is an independent prognostic classifier of patients with ESCC. The invasiveness of NRD1-knockdown TE1 and TE5 esophageal cancer cell lines was less than that of the negative control siRNA-transfected cell lines. Expression of MMP2 and MMP3 mRNA was significantly lower in NRD1-knockdown TE5 cells than in negative control siRNA-transfected cells. These results suggest that nardilysin is involved in tumor progression, and is an independent prognostic classifier in patients with ESCC., (© 2013 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) molecule is very important in GC progression. To examine the correlation between EGFR and GC-related genes, we analyzed gene expression profiles of HT-29 cells treated with EGFR ligands and identified six genes upregulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-α treatment. Among these, we focused on cadherin 17 (CDH17) encoding liver-intestine cadherin (LI-cadherin). Expression of LI-cadherin was induced by both EGF and TGF-α, as detected by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. A luciferase assay showed that LI-cadherin promoter activity was enhanced by EGF or TGF-α in both HT-29 cells and MKN-74 GC cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of 152 GC cases showed that out of 58 LI-cadherin-positive cases, 24 (41%) cases were also positive for EGFR, whereas out of 94 LI-cadherin-negative cases, only 9 (10%) cases were positive for EGFR (P < 0.0001). Double-immunofluorescence staining revealed that EGFR and LI-cadherin were coexpressed. Significant correlation was found between LI-cadherin expression and advanced T grade and N grade. Both EGFR and LI-cadherin expression were more frequently found in GC cases with an intestinal mucin phenotype than in cases with a gastric mucin phenotype. These results indicate that, in addition to the known intestinal transcription factor caudal type homeobox 2, EGFR activation induces LI-cadherin expression and participates in intestinal differentiation of GC., (© 2012 Japanese Cancer Association.)

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. To identify potential diagnostic markers for ESCC and therapeutic targets for ESCC, we used Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) on one ESCC sample. We obtained a total of 14,430 tags, including 5765 that were unique. By comparing SAGE tags from the ESCC sample with those from normal human squamous esophagus, we found several genes that were differentially expressed between ESCC and normal squamous esophagus. Among these, we focused on the ADAM metallopeptidase with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 16 (ADAMTS16) gene because quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed a high level of ADAMTS16 expression in eight out of 20 ESCC samples (40%), but not in 15 kinds of normal tissues. Western blot analysis also showed upregulation of ADAMTS16 protein in ESCC tissues. Furthermore, ADAMTS16 protein was detected in culture media from the TE5 esophageal cancer cell line. Knockdown of ADAMTS16 in TE5 cells inhibited both cell growth and invasion ability. Our present SAGE data provide a list of genes potentially associated with ESCC. ADAMTS16 could be a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target for ESCC.

The human homolog of the Drosophila prune protein (from PRUNE, which encodes h-prune), which interacts with glycogen synthase kinase 3, promotes cellular motility. H-prune also interacts with nm23-H1, a suppressor of cancer metastasis. It has been reported that stimulation of cellular motility by h-prune is enhanced by its interaction with nm23-H1 in breast cancer cells. In the present study, we examined the expression of h-prune and nm23-H1 during tumor progression in gastric cancer (GC). PRUNE mRNA was overexpressed in 12 (32%) of 38 GC cases by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. PRUNE mRNA levels correlated significantly with advanced T grade, N grade and tumor stage. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that 43 (30%) of 143 GC cases were positive for h-prune, and h-prune-positive GC cases showed more advanced T grade, N grade and tumor stage than h-prune-negative GC cases. One hundred and twenty-four (87%) of 143 GC cases were positive for nm23-H1, and nm23-H1 was expressed in almost all (42 cases, 98%) h-prune-positive GC cases. Many GC cases positive for both h-prune and nm23-H1 showed more advanced T grade, N grade and tumor stage than other type GC cases. Patients with h-prune-positive GC had a significantly worse survival rate than patients with h-prune-negative GC. These findings indicate that overexpression of h-prune is associated with tumor progression and aggressiveness of GC. nm23-H1 may enhance motility of cancer cells by interacting with h-prune.